Don Valley & The Broken Promises

Greg and I are still playing music regularly – it is great to be playing again. Obviously getting a band name is a crucial part of the process. The best one I have come up with so far is – and I am extremely proud of this – is

Don Valley and The Broken Promises

You might need to read this article to get the background.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Valley_Stadium
or this good blog post
http://aunitedview.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/west-ham-olympics-don-valley-and-legacy.html

The photo is from Neuss in Germany - a bit of a Wim Wenders moment

Neuss

Royal Visit

Mother is staying with us for ten days, whilst Ro and Pete get away to Wales for a break. It is all going pretty well, she is getting frailer but it is still a pleasure to have her with us. We went to Betty's at Harlow Carr for lunch then looked round the gardens where we found these combative animals [and the hares].

Wakefield

Rowan has some high jump training at Wakefield at the moment which means that I have some new lands to explore on the bike. I took the Mountain Bike down the Calder Navigation then up some bridle ways above the city, where I came across this game of cricket – the Yorkshire League seems alive and well. [2 spectators, one dog and me]

Guests

Two days after we got back from Europe we had house guests in the shape of Tim & Elizabeth [from Danielle's school] and their grown up children Briana and Jameson. Great to see them all, and to point them in the right directions as they explored York. This photo is from a walk down by the river.

Rhine Route Last Day

So it was off the ferry in Hull after a good nights sleep then successfully negotiating getting out bikes on the train to York, then getting the dog [much anticipated by at least one of our number.]
So 750 kilometres cycled, great weather and a great trip.
Danielle and I fancy carrying on down the Rhine then over to the Danube at some stage. Rowan will probably pass on that.

The boat back home

Rhine Route Day 15

A morning in Bruges, one of the most lovely [and pricey] towns in Europe, then a cycle out to the port of Zebrugge along these canals. The ferry was waiting for us, we had a cabin with a view this time. Met a great couple from Barnsley in their 60s who had been motorcycling around Europe.

Rhine Route Day 14

Train to Cologne with our bikes, much consternation - we were in the wrong guards-van - but we got there OK. Then we managed to get all three bikes into the back of the hired Skoda and drive from Germany, through Holland, to Belgium where Danielle used her phone to book a hotel room on line one hour before we got to Bruges. A long day but good that it all went to plan [apart from driving through the Kennedy tunnel at Antwerp three times, but that is another story]

Koln Cathedral

Rhine Route Day 13

Our last day on the Rhine took us from Bacharach to Mainz. Another good day with plenty of interest. Out hotel was right opposite the station where I tried to work out how we were going to get back to Belgium for out boat. After a less than helpful response from the man in the ticket office [on a one-man stereo-type reinforcement mission] I got us and our bikes train tickets to Koln then hired a car to drive across to Brugge [booking this car on line was as easy as pie, in complete contrast to the German railways system].

Rhine Route Day 12

We carried on down the river to stay at an apartment in Bacharach [we decided not to walk on by]. We booked all our accommodation using Booking.com which worked brilliantly. We were able to request a room for three, and tell the places that we had bikes. When we arrived we would be met with "oh yes, there are three of you, and you have bikes?" which was great.
Bacharach is a quaint little town with roofs like these.

Rhine Route Day 11

After Bonn the Rhine gets pretty spectacular with the Middle Rhine gorge. Vinyards, castles, quaint towns, it's all here.

We stayed at Andernach where this impressive bridge crosses the river; this is a non-altered photo, the only colour was the glass edge to the bridge.

Rhine Route Day 10

Rowan was keen to show us round a museum in Bonn that she had visited - it covered post-war Germany. It was really good, definitely one of the better museums I have been to. We then cycled on towards Andernach. This photo is of Team Palmour taking a rest.

Rhine Route Day 9

After Cologne came Bonn, we cycled gently the 30k or so to the ex-capital city under these amazing buildings which line the river.

Rhine Route Day 8

Day eight was spent in Cologne. We met up with friends Chris and Frank from near Dortmund who had kindly driven over to see us and show us around for the day. We had brunch in a Brauhaus, took the boat trip on the river [which Rowan had done when she was here on her exchange trip, and was keen to show us] visited the chocolate museum, saw the Cathedral and had a good day all round. After saying goodbye, we ate out at an Indian restaurant in the evening, which was fantastic.

Rowan & Friend - Chocolate Museum

Rhine Route Day 7

We cycled into Cologne, and got another good hotel, right near the centre with excellent bike parking facilities. My friend Angelika from Heildelberg who I had not seen for 31 years, kindly drove up with her husband Thomas and son Johannes to meet us for a meal in the evening. It was great to catch up, we all  had a great time on the Rhine terrace in a beer garden looking across at the city. Perfect.
Thomas was trying to take a picture of us all on my camera when he pressed the button at the wrong time. The result is, I think, pretty brilliant.

And here is a more conventional shot he took

Rhine Route Day 6

The weather still hot, we cycled on to Neuss opposite Dusseldorf which we visited in the evening. The Rhine is a major thoroughfare here with a constant stream of barges and boats. The cycle tracks have a pretty constant stream too, local people, day cyclists, long distance tourers, all gently making their way up or down the river.

Rhine Route Day 5

A really hot day,over 35 degrees, but not too bad on the bikes with a gentle breeze. We crossed from Holland into Germany with barely a road-sign to tell us; it is a great achievement in Europe to diminish the tyranny of the border. We passed the allied headquarters at Arnheim from the war, and followed the named Rhine for the first time on the trip [up to now it has been called the Waal and the Maas]. We finished the day at the beautiful walled city of Xanthen.

Rhine Route 4

Day four took us through more watered Dutch landscapes where the bike paths create an alternative way of travelling through the country. It is really inspiring to see so many people using bikes as their way of getting around. Having said that, when you do have to share the road, the driving is terrible.

Ferries such as this one provide crucial links across the rivers. 

Rhine Route 3

After a very smooth crossing we disembarked at Rotterdam then followed perfect cycle routes right through the city to Dodricht. Rotterdam port is an amazing sight to behold, the biggest port in Europe and it feels like that as endless tanks and pipes stretch away in all directions. By the end of the day we had reached lovely Woudrichem in rural Holland. The hotel was very welcoming, with a great evening meal.

The photo shows how wide the river is as it nears the sea, and how wide those skies are.

Rhine Route 2

Hull

We cycled from John & Katie's on the old railway line to Hull where we were to catch the ferry to Rotterdam. We had a bit of time to spare so went to the Deep http://www.thedeep.co.uk/ which is as impressive as ever [although going once every ten years is about right]. We found a great little path along the Humber to the docks where I got this shot.
Cycling onto the huge ferry was, as ever, a bit of an adventure. The ferry itself was great with an Indian buffet that hit the spot.

Rhine Route 1

There is more to post about the Heritage Ride, this will come after some posts about our Rhine Trip.

The three of us set off on our touring bikes to stay the first night of our cycle trip at friends John and Katy in Holderness. It would be fair to say that Rowan was not the most enthusiastic participant, but we got there and after a good wind assisted ride through the Wolds and had a great evening in their rambling farm house.

 

Oscar the dog definitely cheered Rowan up.

Back in Hull

Counting change. Coffee. Kindle. Nails varnished. Yes the holiday is over. On the train back home from Hull. Normal blog service resumes tomorrow

Last meal in

Cycling from Rotterdam to Mainz, we have followed the Rhine from ocean to the heart of Germany. Last meal time.

Bottle

In the Japanese noodle bar Rowan had a Japanese lemonade which came in this bottle. It had a glass ball seal which I think is how it used to be long long ago in the UK.

Bonn

Eating Japanese noodles in Bonn. Welcome to the modern world

Heritage Ride 16

From Cartmel I am accompanied by more sunshine as the road climbs and twists through the quiet hills before dropping down to Backbarrow. I remember the excitement of seeing the "blue men" who worked at the dolly blue works, when we drove up to the Lakes from Preston - it meant we were nearly there.
From there across to Rowrah and the old railway line to Greenodd. Up past Penny Bridge church where Ro got married long ago and on to Arrad Foot where the family lived in the mid 70s.